The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) opens today, Monday the 5^th March 2012 in Seattle, Washington, USA. This global premier scientific HIV research meeting provides a forum for basic scientists, clinical investigators and global health researchers to present, discuss, and critique their investigations into the epidemiology and biology of human retroviruses and the diseases they produce with the ultimate goal of translating laboratory and clinical research into progress against the AIDS epidemic.

The 2012 edition of CROI comes at a momentous time when the buzz has turned from rolling out universal antiretroviral therapy to finding the all-important cure that will spell the end of AIDS. The earth-shattering results of HPTN 052, reporting a 96% HIV prevention efficacy of early ART, brought the world a step closer to ending HIV through a massive HIV treatment scale-up that will make HIV+ people less infectious. Identifying serodiscordant couples and immediately commencing the positive partner on ART will virtually eliminate the possibility of infection to the negative partner.

The case of the Berlin patient, Timothy Ray Brown, the only man scientifically proven to have been cured of HIV through a bone-marrow transplant, opened discussions on the possibility of a functional cure. Brown underwent a radical procedure that may not be available to many people but the development got researchers talking about the possibility of engineering human cells to eliminate the CCR5 co-receptor which will result in the HI virus finding less traction in fusing with the human cells.

The drive towards a cure for HIV has gathered momentum and we wait with bated breath to find out whether researchers have made any headway in finding a method for eliminating the viral reservoirs or succeeded in genetically engineering human cells to prevent the virus gaining a foothold on the CD4 cell. At any rate, it is refreshing to note that the cure agenda features prominently on the program, a far cry from previous conferences where talk revolved around optimal ART combinations and the wonders of new ARV drugs.

The end of AIDS cannot be far off. With the same intensity that they have worked to produce safer and more efficacious HIV medicines, our researchers have turned their efforts in finding that therapy that will completely eliminate the virus from the human body. It might seem an impossible task given the havoc that has been wreaked by this small virus over the last three decades. But the job must be executed with the thoroughness and dedication of an archaeologist who assiduously seeks for that small shard, a mere sliver, a link to an ancient civilisation that unlocks the mysteries of the past and defines our being.

From Seattle, I will be sending daily updates of the conference. Note that there is a 10-hour difference between Seattle and Central Africa time, so “today” here can be “tomorrow” in Africa.